bankruptcy

Nick Denton, the British expatriate who independently founded Gawker Media in 2002 and has served as its chief executive officer for its entire 14-year history, filed today for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York.

Gawker Media has filed for bankruptcy. The specific circumstances leading to that bankruptcy are unique and bizarre. The fact of a media company declaring itself bankrupt, however, is pretty much a commonplace. Under other conditions—even facing down a different, more conventionally motivated lawsuit—Gawker’s bankruptcy process might seem somewhat straightforward.

Allie Jones · 12/30/15 12:06PM

KaloBios Inc., the biotech company that fired its CEO Martin Shkreli earlier this month after he was arrested for fraud, filed for bankruptcy today. That makes two former Shkreli companies that aren’t doing so hot: Turing Pharmaceuticals announced layoffs last week.

Facing down a $5 million judgment for posting a sex tape of Rick Ross’s baby mama, 50 Cent has declared bankruptcy to prove he can’t pay. It’s somewhat convenient that, after Forbes named him one of the richest rappers in the world just a few months ago, 50 claims his reported $155 million fortune is really just $4.375 million. He said this week that he rented cars and borrowed jewelry to keep up appearances.

RadioShack—the long-troubled hobbyist-turned-battery store you probably didn't know was still in business—officially went the way of the Blockbuster on Thursday, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It was 94.

A woman who nearly died of cardiac arrest last year is now facing bankruptcy because she was taken to the "wrong" hospital while unconscious. Although she has insurance, the medical center that saved her life is out-of-network.

Radio Shack, also known as "The Shack" or "The King of Replacement Parts for Electronic Items that No Longer Exist," is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Can the good old "We Sell Modern Products Now—We Swear!" find itself a reason to exist?

Update: After a very well-written critique, the headline has been updated to reflect the stadium is in Pontiac, not Detroit.

Michelle Dean · 04/16/14 08:43AM

Mt. Gox, the beleaguered Bitcoin exchange, reportedly told a Tokyo court that it's giving up the ghost. It will shut down entirely and pay creditors out of what's left. That means its creditors are likely to get relatively few of their lost bitcoins (and other investments) back.

Michelle Dean · 03/28/14 12:05PM

Those waiting to learn the fate of the Bitcoins they stored with the troubled Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox will have to wait a little longer. The investigator appointed by the Japanese bankruptcy court, who was due to report findings today, was given until May 9 to figure out what the hell happened.

Hamilton Nolan · 02/13/14 03:30PM

Earthbound Skymall catalog store Brookstone is "contemplating a possible bankruptcy," according to the Wall Street Journal. U were 2 vibrational for this world, Brookstone.

Hamilton Nolan · 02/07/14 09:43AM

Piles of garbage, city services that don't work, inept local government, horrible financial mismanagement, exploitation by big banks, and now a looming bankruptcy: Naples is the Detroit of Italy. (They both have nice art museums, too!)

Detroit is bankrupt. The once-great city languishes deep in debt, unable to provide basic city services, as it debates cutting pensions and selling off the city's art collection. What's the right move? We, the writers of Gawker, have very strong opinions.

Thanks to some misguided moral philosophy and some excellent lobbying work, it is now almost impossible to discharge your student loans in bankruptcy. They haunt you forever, like the souls of those you've killed. As our national student loan debt balloons further into crisis territory, it become ever clearer that we need to change that rule.

A couple weeks after a state-appointed emergency manager filed a bankruptcy claim on behalf of Detroit, the world-famous Christie's auction house has been called in to begin appraising some of the Detroit Institute of Arts' permanent collection. But lest you should assume this is the sign of vultures coming in to pick at a decaying carcass. everyone involved in this process promises this is just a formality and no art will be sold.

Let's check in on the city of Harrisburg, the bankrupt sinkhole of despair that is the capital of the great, coal-choked state of Pennsylvania. "Hey, how's that municipal bankruptcy coming along, Harrisburg?" "Oh not bad— we're selling off our collection of Wild West artifacts. Lol, and u?"

Forbes released its list of America's Most Miserable Cities this week, with appearances from the usual smattering of former manufacturing towns in the Rust Belt, bankrupt municipalities in central California, and burned-out coastal shells. Do you live in any of these cities? Are you unhappy? Would you describe your unhappiness as conditional and dependent on external forces, or so pervasive you barely notice it?

In 2011, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania went bankrupt. Municipally bankrupt. The city is broke, tapped, in penury, scraping by on nada. Personal bankruptcy is tragic, and corporate bankruptcy is financially significant, but there is something especially pitiful about municipal bankruptcies. An entire city of thousands, whose leadership has failed them. It's like watching a scrappy but flailing football team losing in a particularly bloody way.